K League R3: Round Up
Late Goals and FC Seoul Get Off the Mark
We had the typical late drama in 3 of the 6 games that is to be expected in the typically exciting last 15 minutes of K League action. With Daejeon and Suwon FC rescuing points and Pohang getting a deserved 1-0 win over an underpar Gwangju. We also had Jesse Lingard’s FC Seoul get their first win with an excellent first half, and Lingardless, display, while pressure is mounting on former Chelsea player Dan Petrescu as Jeonbuk slumped to defeat against Gimcheon Sangmu for only the third time in the club’s history. In the final game of the round we were treated to the best game/half of the season as Incheon took the game to Ulsan going toe-to-toe with the champions in a back and forth battle that saw the lead exchange hands 3 times before ending in a draw.
Daejeon 1-1 Gangwon
In the battle of the winless teams with identical 1 draw and 1 defeat records, somewhat predictably the game ended as a draw. It was late drama though as a sluggish Daejeon rescued a point when new man, former Togo international Peniel Mlapa smashed home from a tight angle that caught both midfielder come centre back Lee Gi-hyuk and the returning Lee Gwang-yeon in nets off guard for a 88th minute equaliser. The away side had taken the lead when former QPR man Yun Suk-young got his first goal since 2022 when Daejeon keeper spilled a deflected edge of the box free kick. In truth it was a game of few chances but the away side will come away from the game feeling more disappointed as they let the lead slip for the third straight game. Daejeon looked rudderless missing Lee Soon-min
MOM Lee Gi-hyuk - got absolutely battered by Gutkovskis and at part culpable for the equaliser but on the ball was excellent should be playing in midfield.
Daegu FC 1-1 Suwon FC
The home side, again in front of a nearly sold out crowd, ended up disappointing as they conceded the equaliser in the 95th minute. The result was fair overall with the game one of two halves. Suwon having the better of the game in the second and Daegu taking the lead in the first, and will be left aggreived at again wasting chances at home. Barcelos once more the guilty party with an Xg of 0.75 but nothing to show for it. Japanese Yoshino got his debut K League goal with an excellent strike from the edge of the box. After half time it was mostly one way traffic as Suwon poured forward orchestrated by the superb Yoon Bit-garam and supported by attacking subs Lee Seung-woo and Anderson Oliveira. The equaliser seemed inevitable with Oh Seung-hoon pulling off a number of good saves. Eventually it came from Jeong Jae-min with Yoon Bit-garam doing all the leg work, Jeong stabbed home the rebound for his debut K League goal and a deserved share of the spoils.
MOM Yoon Bit-garam - pushed Suwon FC forward right to the last minute.
FC Seoul 2-0 Jeju United
New manager Kim Gi-dong got his first win, although the maine talking point was his post-match statement saying he considered subbing off subsitute Jesse Lingard for his perceived lack of effort. The former Pohang manager’s quote has probably been blown out of proportion with Lingard providing 2 key passes in the game more than any of his teammates in his 40 minutes and his role in the team should be at the business end. The Englishman almost had a one on one but his touch was too heavy, while once Jeju were down to 10, a quick short corner routine almost resulted in a goal with Lingard’s dangerous cross going in off the defender before the flag was raised for offside, so his performance wasn’t bad. That said a few loose touches, 1 lost duel and 2 missed tackles is what left his manager worried, as FC Seoul aimed to defend their 2-goal lead that they had mustered from an excellent first half display. Seoul got their first goal of the season from a debatable PK call, but Jeju’s 2 generous penalties last week makes it hard for them to complain. Iljutchenko got off the mark from the spot before a rising Ki Sung-yueng shot from outside the box sent the near 30,000 crowd into raptures. Jeju dominated much of the 2nd half but failed to muster much threat and new man in charge Kim Hak-beom went down to his first defeat.
MOM Choi Jun/Ki Sung-yeung/Ryu Jae-moon/ Kim Ju-sung
Gimcheon 1-0 Jeonbuk
The army side earned their first home win of the season and second to continue a good start to season. Meanwhile, Jeonbuk remain winless and after being dumped out of the ACL the pressure is mounting on coach Dan Petrescu. Performance-wise Jeonbuk probably deserved a point but their inability to control games make them look a shadow of their former self. Underperforming players in the attacking end of the pitch is another factor with the loss of Hernandes to injury earlier in the season a contributing one. A goal in transition is what separated the teams with captain Kim Hyeon-ug scoring his third of the season to go joint top of the league’s scoring charts. Jeon Byung-kwan giving the ball away and Kang Hyun-muk handing his captain a chance to put the home side ahead, beautifully dispated leaving Kim Jeong-hoon no chance in nets. Jeonbuk brought on 3 subs at half time and piled on the pressure with direct balls into the box but failed to beat Jeonbuk loanee Kim Jun-hong in nets and only mustered one shot on target to go down to their first defeat of the season in front of a dispairing and large away following.
MOM Kim Hyeon-ug
Pohang Steelers 1-0 Gwangju FC
Early lead leaders Gwangju had their wings clipped with a toothless display in their first away game of the season. The game was quite reminiscent of last year’s April defeat away to same opponent where they again had more of the ball but failed to create anything with only 1 shot on target as was the case in this game although they at least had two shots, both pretty much straight at the keeper. A lot of errors on the ball, sideways and backwards passing encouraged Pohang to sit off and wait for the moment to strike. Jorge should have opened his account with a run in on goal from teh halfway line with the finish lacking. Pohang continued to create the better chances in a stop-start game and in the 94th minute the home side got their just reward with Jeong Jae-hee putting his injury nightmare of 2023 behind him with a cool finish following a mistake by Doo Hyun-seok the Gwangju right back. A poor game and a hard watch for the neutrals.
MOM Wanderson - won the battle with Gabriel and led the team in interceptions and tackles.
Ulsan HD 3-3 Incheon United
The perfect palate cleanser for the previous game was the second half of the Ulsan and Incheon game. A quiet first half with a goal a piece and most notably the uncharacteristic error from Kim Young-gwon at the back for Ulsan that led to the first Incheon equaliser. The second half was an entertaining open affair. Incheon taking the lead for the first time with Park Seung-ho putting in the rebound after another uncharacteristic error from a Korean National Team (KNT) player, this time goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo failed to hold a Mugosa shot with park quick on the mark to make it 2-1. Another rebound this time falling to Lee Dong-gyeong after Bojanic had hit the post meant the score was once again level. A third and final rebound was then gobbled up by Hungarian international Martin Adam for his second of the game, meaning Incheon would have to come from behind again to get anything from the game. The team in yellow continued to create chances with Mugosa and Gerso going close. A Lee Myung-joo run into the box was halted illegally by Bojanic and Mugosa duly dispatched the penalty for his own double. Both teams continued to attack looking for the seventh of the game but a draw was a fair result that a depleted Incheon, missing 4 centre midfielders, would have taken at the beginning of the game.
MOM Mugosa and Adam.